home | articles | fictions | poetry | images | audio & video | shop | bio | contact

Monday, February 04, 2008

Mid-East Internet Outages, Cut Cables, Space Ships

A fourth internet cable was cut in the Middle East yesterday.

There has been a lot of speculation that the outages may be the first move to cut off Iranian communications prior to the attack on the country. I, of course, have no way of knowing anything about that because I am only a writer of fictions about space ships and supernatural happenings and guys who fight each other with broadswords.

As of the last time I checked at Internet Traffic Report, information transfer to and from Iran was still completely null, nil, nothing, nyet.


So that's fun.

Iran was scheduled to start its "Oil Bourse" this week or next, with a plan to start moving oil about in currencies other than dollars. Boy, I bet that made some people mad.

Flag Telecom operates two of the four cables that have were cut - one cable in the Mediterranean, the other in the off Dubai. Flag's most recently press release (Feb. 4, 2008) says:

Update on Submarine Cable Cut - Daily Bulletin
@ 0900 GMT February 4 2008
Bulletin will be updated Daily with Progress.

Cut # 1:

− FLAG Europe-Asia cable was reported cut at 0800 hrs GMT on January 30 2008.
− Location of cut is at 8.3 kms from Alexandria, Egypt on segment between Egypt and Italy.
− The Repair ship loaded with spares is expected to reach the repair ground by February 5 2008.
− We have received the necessary permits to commence work from the Egyptian Authorities.
− FLAG has restored circuits of customers covered under Pre-planned Restoration service.
− FLAG has restoration on alternative routes for customers who have requested Ad hoc Restoration service.

Cut # 2:

− FALCON cable was reported cut at 0559 hrs GMT on February 1 2008.
− Location of cut is reported at 56 kms from Dubai, UAE on segment between UAE and Oman.
− The repair Ship is loaded with all spares and ready to sail. Awaiting clearance from Port Authorities due to 36 knots winds.
− FLAG is executing restoration on alternative routes for customers who have requested Ad hoc Restoration service.

| More

1 Comments:

I concluded yesterday following the cutting of the fourth cable that the war appears to have already started.

- By Blogger Al Shaw, at Tue Feb 05, 12:01:00 PM GMT  

Your Comment?